, Columnist
Modi's Alarming Power Grab
The state is empowering itself in ways not seen for decades.
Not so liberal?
Photographer: Sergey Guneev/RIA NovostiThis article is for subscribers only.
Relatively quietly, India's government has just undertaken an unprecedented power grab -- one that should worry not just citizens and taxpayers but also foreign investors. And it comes in the most unlikely of places: the annual federal budget.
The presentation of the budget is a fairly splashy event; it's announced by the finance minister in a speech to parliament that usually reveals the direction of economic policy in the coming year. Once the speech is done, the budget usually vanishes from view: Lawmakers debate and negotiate, a few minor amendments are carried out, and a finance bill is passed, turning the budget into law.